Ileus stopped in the breezeway. In a very low voice he said, "That was a swirl of dark forces."
Adrianna froze.
"It seems that there was something that called her, something that she was familiar with, something that knew that Iona was a witch with immense powers."
"Oh god!" Adrianna shuddered.
"You have to tell me about everyone who was with Iona at that time, if you find out about the guards or people close to her, I may be able to get hold of it better."
"I will let you know," she said, rattled at what he revealed. "This means that there was something already going on in the palace, something very sinister…"
"Yes," he sighed. "I wish I was there with her."
Adrianna turned to look at his son and cupped his face. "Sometimes things can't be prevented, Aly," she said in a soft voice. "I am sure fate has something to do with what all happened. If you look at the bright side, you would have never gone for Anastasia if Iona was not kidnapped."
A lump formed in his throat. He knew that his mother was only trying to make him feel good, but in her heart, it must be paining her. Fate was cruel. It took his sister in exchange for his wife. He couldn't speak anything. He nodded and then left her. He heard her slow steps back to the bedchamber. How he wished that he could get Iona back… Why had she given in to the dark powers?
In the night after he had tucked Anastasia under the blanket, he had gone out in the gardens of the east wing. Haldir, Guarhal and Aidan were waiting for him. As he walked towards the portal, Haldir said, "This is very dangerous Ileus. You are trying to fuse a memory with the time funnel. It may backfire. You can get sucked into a different timeline."
Wearing a long cloak, Ileus adjusted his hood on the head. He clutched the vial of the memory and stepped in the portal. They were going to a cavern in Yelgra where he had been able to create the time funnel.
Guarhal stepped right after him. "That's right Ileus. You should think twice before you embark on such a dangerous venture."
"I know what I am doing," he replied firmly. Though he was fully aware that this needed precision. A minute slip would cause him to get lost easily.
As soon as they walked in the dark cavern, Haldir lit the torches on the side by flickering his fingers towards them. They flared to life and the cavern got dimly lit. He remembered his time with Anastasia there, when they had taken the bath together. A smile crept on his lips and he took a deep breath. His lusty, little mate was— was she pregnant? He shuddered at the thought. He was afraid that if she had become pregnant, she would rip him apart in pieces. She had already told him that she didn't want to have babies for two years and he had gone to the healers to get an herb that prevented… accidents. Gods, did he miss it or was the herb not good? His body trembled at the thought. But his babies would look so cute. He wanted a daughter just like Anastasia but with his eyes and maybe her hair, but with his nose and lips and mostly everything else. His lips tugged up at the lovely thought.
"We have reached!" said Guarhal, pulling him out of his thoughts much to his annoyance.
Ileus jolted back to the present. The surface of the pool in front of them was rippling softly. "Go back as far as you can. I will create the funnel and then enter it immediately."
Haldir gave him a tight nod and then they all left him.
Ileus closed his eyes and then brought his hands up. Flame from the torches got attracted to the tip of his fingers. They rushed to him and before they touched him, he swirled his hands in a circle motioning them to follow the pattern. As soon as the flames formed a circle, he pushed air through them and a funnel formed. It sizzled with sparks of magic. Without looking behind at his friends, he stepped in the funnel and was instantly sucked in it at godspeed. He took the vial out of his pocket and threw a drop of memory on the sides and as soon as he did that, everything stopped moving. The thin white wisp of memory smashed against the funnel and a small portal was created. This was where he was supposed to go.
---
Iona jerked her eyes open at the sound of something. Her heart pounded like a wild horse in her ears. It sounded like someone had banged a door loudly. Breathless, she got up and clutched her sheet against her chest. Had Diumbe gotten loose? She checked her door and windows that she had bolted and then cast a spell on them so that Diumbe did not enter. She scanned the room but there was nothing. She heard Diumbe hissing.
Iona closed her eyes and it took a while for her to go back to sleep. Nightmare sounds were louder this time. Someone knocked the carriage. Glass shattered. Injured yelled in pain. Iona huddled in the corner as she heard the screams from the outside. "Papa!" she thrashed her head against the pillow.
Suddenly everything went still. And she saw… a pair of golden eyes watching her intensely. "Wh— who are you?" asked little Iona.
A blurry face appeared. Raven black hair fluttered.
Another voice hissed from dense fog that had formed around her. "You have no option, Iona," it said to her.
"Papa!" she shouted but the fog grew thicker. She caught the edge of her seat.
"Open the door, Iona," the golden eyes seemed to say. "Jump out."
Fiery pain sliced in her head. She lost hold of the seat and clutched her head, as she staggered to the side. Hands grabbed her. Heavy hands that felt like vise. "Papaaaaa!" Iona screamed.
"I have come to take you, my child," a voice from the fog hissed. "You deserve a better place, a better education. You are made to rule the world…."
Iona jerked awake with a scream that rang in her ears. She gasped for air with a terrible burn at the back of her throat. Her body was covered with sweat and her chest heaved. Who was that? That golden pair of eyes. They were so intense. They wanted her to get out of the carriage. Jump out of it. Could she do that? But papa wanted her to stay in. She clutched her head again. After what seemed like eternity, she got out of her bed to walk to the pitcher on the table. Cool water down her throat allowed her to come back to reality. She heard restless Diumbe around her room. They wanted to come in, but couldn't.
Earlier she never used to close her door. She liked when Diumbe would come in and out of her room, slither on her body, get in and out of her mouth. She was used to the feeling and addicted to the power associated with them. And now… now she wasn't allowing them to enter the room. That was the only way she could stop her addiction for them.